A Survey of Lifestyle and Performance Factors of Elite and Pre-Elite Athletes

Background Success at the elite level in sport is often attributed to physical prowess, technical skill, and mental attitude. However, underpinning these factors are various lifestyle and social influences that further contribute to successful performance, but which may be absent from athlete development programs. Methods An online survey was used to investigate athlete perceptions of lifestyle practices and support services amongst 135 Australian Olympic, Paralympic, National, and state-level athletes across 25 Olympic sports. Results International athletes perceived psychological skills and attributes, along with strong interpersonal relationships as vital to their success, and they also rated ‘Recovery practices’ as very important. Athletes wanted greater knowledge, mentoring, and autonomy earlier in their careers. Conclusions An athlete development system into which these are included may assist in generating an environment to facilitate repeated podium performances, retain athletes in high-performance sport for longer, encourage human-flourishing and smooth transitions for retiring athletes.